Goat in a Tuk Tuk. May 29, 2008

22.May.2008

We spent the first part of the day bumming around the hostel eating breakfast, chatting with Michelle and packing up to move on out…we then headed out to wander the city for a couple hours before our bus ride to Jodhpur. It was quite hot out but refused the many offers for a rickshaw and walked around looking in shops and enjoying the beautifully carved homes interspersed throughout the city, time quickly ran out and we booked it back to Moti Palace to grab our bags and jumped in a rickshaw to get us to the bus depot.

When we got there a hoard of people asked us where we were going, we showed them our tickets and they pointed us to the bus directly in front of us and then the fun began. A guy put our bags under the bus and demanded 10 rps per bag, we refused, it just didn’t sound right. We have ridden many a buses and never has there been a fee for bag storage. Dave kept an eye on the bags and made sure they didn’t do anything fishy. The bus ride was 5 hours long and a dusty journey indeed, but the scenery was spectacular, with desert interspersed with rural villages and women in beautiful sarees carrying water in bronze jugs on their heads and of course the occasional camel hanging around for good measure.

We got into Jodhpur around 6pm and called our Couch Surfing host Amit and he gave directions to our rickshaw driver to the house…this didn’t seem to help much. Our rickshaw driver went in circles for 10 minutes or so asking people along the way where to go (actually none of the rickshaw drivers we took were able to find the house without getting lost first). We were greeted warmly by Amit and his family and we went and collapsed into the sofas and his mom brought us cold drinks and snacks…feeling at home already. We spent the evening chatting with Amit and eating a delicious dinner prepared by his mom of lentils, okra, fresh chapati and mango cubes…so good I thought my stomach was going to explode from eating too much (a common theme of our stay here)!

23.May.2008

Waking up with a migraine and no desire to brave the heat after sleeping in we decided to make it a lazy day and hung out around the house doing a whole bunch of nothing. Our day consisted of reading, catching up with things online, napping and eating way too much….how can you refuse a mother cooking you delicious meal after delicious snack after delicious meal. We briefly mentioned our love of lassi’s and gulab jamun and later that afternoon she had brought back from the market the best lassi’s and gulab jamun in town…sugar over load but how could we refuse?

In the evening we took a short scooter ride over to a musical fountain, a cool place to hangout in Jodhpur. Lots of families and couples on dates sitting in the grass. A small sand storm descended on us so we decided to go back home, but not without stopping at a cute dinner for ice cream, which was surprisingly good! Ahh it feels great doing nothing…

24.May.2008

Today we got up a bit later then we planned, thought we set an alarm clock but guess not, so we decided to hold off on the fort for one more day and go to the Umaid Bhawan Palace and explore the blue city a bit. But before we leave, we were informed we would have to have some lunch, which Amits mother was already preparing. So we hung out for a bit, had some lunch and then grabbed a rickshaw to the palace, but not before Amit bargained a fair price for us.

The palace is situated on a big hill and very stunning from the outside, unfortunately we don’t really know what it looks like from the inside because it is a very expensive hotel and they don’t let non-guests enter unless your willing to fork out 3,000 rupees per person….and as you may have already guessed we weren’t. A very small part of the building is occupied by a rather unimpressive museum, which we browsed, but didn’t give a good idea of what it looks like inside…oh well we’ll have to come back when we are rich and famous. Our rickshaw man then drove us down to the Clocktower, which is sort of the epicenter of a main market area. We went and had a lassi at a little place known for their delicious snot color lassis, pretty much the only thing they serve. It was packed with people and no one had anything else in front of them but a tall glass of thick yellow liquid, reminiscent of some 1950’s ice cream shake joint. From there we wandered around a bit, kids wanting us to come to their uncles spice shop and such…but my stomach was feeling very achy so we soon headed back to the house for some rest and relaxation.

The rest of the afternoon was sprent hanging out with the family (and me napping in the room)…everyone was concerned about me. They gave me some stomach salts which helped a bit. Another hot day in Jodhpur!

25.May.08

(Now Dave is typing) We finally managed to awaken at a reasonable hour and set off for the Jodhpur fort. The fort and it’s view of the city was extraordinary. Long ago the Brahmins (upper caste of Hindu society) painted their houses blue to show their status (and supposedly to keep bugs away). Enough Brahmins lived here that the city had a gorgeous blue tint, and now anyone and not just Brahmins can do so, making a sea of light blue homes. We had a great audio tour of the fort which we took very slow and drew it out a few hours just wandering through the splendor of this magnificent fort. It is by far the best maintained monument we have seen in India and one of the more stunning in size, history, and intricacy.

After feeling fully satisfied with the fort; it’s view, tour, and museum, we headed across the way to the burial temple of a bunch of dead rich people. It was also magnificent with a huge city wall in the background of this marble domed, white mausoleum. We were greeted by some kids in terrific costumes, one playing the sitar and the other dancing with her head popping side to side like a Mexican jumping bean under a hot sun. Both kids were super spunky and made a terrific welcoming for us. We spent some time at the mausoleum getting the perfect shot of pigeons as we scared them to fly in front of the structure. Then we relaxed on the lawn to the background sound of our favorite bird noise, and the beautiful prayer hymn of a Muslim mosque from the city.

We then walked in scorching heat down to the city (which Indians driving by thought was the craziest thing they’ve ever witnessed to see two white people walking in such heat). On the way we met a goat just hanging out in a parked auto rickshaw (Tuk Tuk). We thought this was hysterical for some reason, especially when we tried to pet it (like we always do) and it kept trying to butt us with it’s horns. When that got old we continued wandering to find food whereupon I came to a street cow in a twisting alley with really full udders. Always wanting to, I reached down to grab a nipple to squeeze out milk only to be charged by this angered bovine. Thankfully I picked one with small horns, and cows happen to be stupid and slow so I deftly dodged it’s mad attack to live another day. Laughing hysterically from the goat and cow, we moseyed into a decent looking place, grabbed some great tandoori chicken (our vegetarian hosts would be mad) with a nice rooftop fort view, then left and got a Tuk Tuk back home.

We did the usual back at home. I spent too much time using the computer as it felt SO great to have one readily at my fingertips, and Jessica read, napped, and chatted with Amit. At some point Amit and I headed out on his motorbike to pick up stuff for dinner and his friends car. When he found out his friend didn’t have space for the bike inside the garage, Amit asked if I could ride it home behind him as he drove the car…”yes, no problem” I responded, not taking into consideration the INSANITY of driving in India. But alas, it was later in the evening, without too many crazy drivers on the road, and not too great of a distance. After a lot of dust in my face and massive stomach cramps I arrived home safe. The stomach cramps by the way were something we both experienced while in Jodhpur from microbes in the water that was supposedly “filtered.” Once we started using our own UV filter on their water we started feeling a lot better.

26.May.08

We went with the family to some very kitschy modern Jain temple with colorful statues of gods from many religions, and many rooms for meditation, teaching, and prayer. Afterwards we went to a nice lake and wandered around in some nature for awhile. Back at the house we did more of the same lazy routine, had some final delicious farewell meals, which I just realized we haven’t been describing well. So here goes: All meals had chapati (flat bread like tortilla), Papar (Papadum: crispy, spicy flat bread), Dhal (Lentils in sauce), and always some delicious vegetable dish most often with lots of tomatoes, onions, incredible spices, capsicum (green bell pepper), etc. We also drank too much Rose water (well me rather, as Jess wasn’t fond of it) and ate lots of succulent Alfonso Mangoes (which I learned to cut well).

Soon we were saying our goodbyes to our lovely hosts and hopping on a bus in the middle of nowhere. Our next destination is Udaipur, and we were nervous about being able to get there as in the last couple of days protests and riots have sprung up in rural villages outside major cities in Rajasthan, many of which stop all buses and trains to get in the newspapers for their cause. It is all due to some legislation being overturned that would be similar to affirmative action in the US, but in this case be for the poor not the black. Anyway, the bus agency, and locals say it should be fine now and protesters haven’t hit this area yet, and we hope they our correct as we climb into our hot & tiny sleeping box (where luggage usually goes on a bus and is now our bed), and attempt to sleep through all the noise and bumps.

He only has ONE EYE!!! May 24, 2008

(Once again, I wrote two separate blogs and posted both a day apart, so scroll down ad read the blog of Delhi if you haven’t yet. With Jaisalmer especially the pictures speak a lot more than my words as the beauty of this “Golden City” is indescribable. So check them out at our Flickr page).

19.May.08

Woke up still on the train to find out the guy across from us who is constantly chatting on his cell phone, wearing fancy jewelry, and has an entourage of people constantly meeting with him, is actually kind of a celebrity politician from Delhi! As we arrived at his stop in Rajasthan he was greeted with cheers, loud live music, and lots of yellow flowers. Anyway, we arrived in Jaisalmer and our Hotelier picked Jess, Michelle (our new Aussie friend), and I up in a Jeep to take us to our hotel Moti Palace, which we picked out of our guide book, located inside of the 900 year old Jaisalmer fort. We were shown a room which is a stunning 500 year old suite with a gorgeous view of the fort gates and the city. During the tourist season this room goes for Rs 750/night ($20), but since this is the hottest part of India during the hottest month of the year (with highs of 45 Celsius or 113 Fahrenheit) most tourists opt for cooler part of the country. Being three of the few tourists in the entire city and the only three staying in his hotel, we were offered the price of Rs 250/night ($6) instead. Oh it felt like royalty sitting on our little balcony enjoying all the plebeians meander below. We left the hotel in search of food only to find the downside to having the city free of tourists…all the tourist places close, including great restaurants! We ended finding a place with good tandoori chicken then bought some beer to take and enjoy at the hotel overlooking the city at sunset and chatting until late.

20.May.08

In the morning we (Michelle, Jess, Raj our hotel owner, and I) went to a crafts store where Jess and I got our huge package of souvenirs wrapped in typical Indian fashion of paper, cloth, sewing, and wax. We then went jewelery shopping, and even with tough bargaining they could tell Jess really liked the silver and gem earrings and wouldn’t budge to lower prices, so we paid a bit much, though still terrific compared to what we’d pay for same quality in the west. The post office was closed for random holiday so we ate some terrific lunch at Trio restaurant, then wandered through the city taking pictures of gorgeous Havelis along the way back to the fort. Havelis are basically desert mansions built in the time of massive merchant wealth in Rajasthan. They are all made of strong golden sandstone with intricately detailed carvings and are found all throughout the city making it a labyrinth of beauty. At some point a group of locals wanted me to take a picture of them with Jessica (with our camera; this happens a LOT, too often to always mention). We gladly obliged, and a nearby man with a pushcart also requested we take his picture. As we took his picture another man from the group behind us kept pointing and saying to us “He only has one eye, he only has one eye…” and sure enough, he only had one eye.

We headed back into the fort where we met with Manish, another Couchsurfer who couldn’t host us, but wanted to meet. Being a local he showed us some back alley beauty of Jaisalmer and a terrific sunset view. We wandered and talked for a good amount of time until discussion of dinner came up. We complained that all the good restaurants were closed, and one in our book, Natraj, sounded especially good. Knowing the owner, Manish pulled strings to have it open just for us, where we were soon eating delicious Okra and Brinjal dishes with Manish and his friends. We headed late to the hotel after lots of intense discussion of all things and slept.

21.May.08

Michelle felt crappy today so Jess and I headed to the Jain temples in the fort. The temples were all part of a massive temple complex filled with more intricate stone carvings on pillars, and serpent archways. Good thing Jessica wasn’t on her period or she wouldn’t have been able to enter, though I snuck in wearing my leather belt (weird Jain laws of no animal products, or bleeding women, because as everyone knows they are SO similar). We spent a few hours at the exquisite temples then picked up my souvenir parcel and had it shipped at the Post Office.

We were soon in a Jeep with Raj to a very remote desert village an hour away. It was a gorgeous village that one would only expect to see in National Geographic. Jessica was especially surprised that people in this world still live so simply in such quaint villages. There were no shops, no trash, just a well with water, mud and straw huts, lots of cows, camels, goats, sheep, donkeys, dogs, and people wearing gorgeous traditional clothing.

After some delicious tea we hopped on our new camel friends and our very young guides for a three hour trek in the desert. One guide spoke great English, and the other spoke none, but entertained us by hopping on a wild donkey and riding it around for an hour. The experience was great, though made the thighs quite sore. We went to two different sand dunes that were gorgeous with the strong wind whipping sand in graceful swirls (and in our faces). As we walked along the edge of each dune, it created a small avalanche of sand cascading down the face which tricked the eyes and looked instead exactly like water flowing in little rivers. We trekked until sunset when the sun turned into a dull white orb pasted behind a light wall of sand. It slowly descended over a field of sand dunes, sheep, and camels and disappeared far above the horizon where the wind-whipped sand thickened to a brown fog. It was pretty awesome.

We could barely stay awake for the return trip to the hotel, and after a quick shower to wash of the pile of sand we fell asleep as soon as our sore legs found the bed, and our heads hit the pillow.

We can’t think of a funny title for Delhi. May 23, 2008

15.May.08

Jumped on our 7 hour train to Delhi without hassle, and arrived in Delhi filled with terror about what awaits us. Constantly people (and guide books) tell us how insane Delhi is. Completely filth drenched city, covered in trash, and hazy with black soot, filled with very pushy, aggressive touts and rickshaw drivers, extremely persistent beggars and street children who will do nothing but sniff glue with your given, or stolen money, and constant rip-offs and scams from hotels, shops, and restaurants. Surprisingly we experienced absolutely NONE of this. We exited the train station for our straight walk to our hotel Hare Krishna Lodge down a tourist infested street. A couple rickshaws asked kindly if we wanted rides, a couple touts asked if we wanted hotel rooms, and all backed off with a simple “no thanks,” one beggar asked simply for food, and, for supposedly being “the dirtiest city in the world,” the Delhi we experienced was surprisingly SPOTLESS by Indian standards (save the fog of air pollution; not much worse than LA 10 years ago). Our only minor problem was with the hotel we picked out from the book, it was more expensive than we expected (by $2, a big deal here) and they put us in a small room next to massive construction and a with broken toilet, and meager fan. After a complaint about the noise they gave us a room for the same price, but three stories up, and somehow 3 times bigger than the other room with two double beds, air cooler, working TV, and spotless, fully-functional bathroom! I don’t quite get how that all worked out, but we suppose they just wanted to see if we would be happy with the crappy room before giving us the real room, it all worked out great!

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out, doing nothing special. Our hotel restaurant, now just a quick flight of stairs up on the roof, served some excellent Thai food which we have been craving as a break from Indian (Mmm Tom Yam soup again!) We had some beers later at a local bar, and ended our night.

16.May.08

We had a long day of monument exploration, souvenir shopping, and FINE dining. First stop the Delhi Red Fort with terrific marble mausoleums, mosques, and huge red walls, one of the many central courts of the Mughal empire (they moved around a lot, similar structures as the Red Forts in Agra, built in different generations). We shopped a bit at some stores nearby getting fabulous souvenirs for friends and family. Then went to a Jain temple nearby with a bird hospital, and after to a massive mosque where we came across more obnoxious Muslims trying to cheat us out of our money by charging us to bring a camera in. We told them we wouldn’t pay and simply wouldn’t take pictures and keep the camera in a purse, but they said one of us would have to wait outside with the camera. We told them that was a load of shit and left, content with appreciating the outside of the mosque (terrorism aside, they don’t try very hard to get people to like them).

Then we headed to Karim’s restaurant around the corner where we ate one of the best meals we’ve had yet in India. Even Time magazine rated this place as one of the very best in all of Asia, and the mutton (goat) in almond curry, spicy red curry tandoori chicken, and sweet succulent Naan bread proved Time correct! Best part of this place is, for being a 5 star restaurant, the prices are far cheaper than even the meager food you’ll find at many hotels.

After our stomachs were full we walked a way to the nearest Metro station, which is BRAND SPANKING NEW. It is one of the most gorgeous Metro systems we have ever seen. Completely devoid of all graffiti and trash, ice-cold air-conditioning, fast, efficient, cheap, and massive, stunning terminals. After everything we have learned about Delhi and now riding the Metro, we are very excited for the future of this city. Just 5 years ago Delhi was rated among the dirtiest cities in the world, and THE dirtiest capitol, yet in just that time, they have converted all public transport from Petrol and Diesel to Compressed Natural Gas, built a gorgeous Metro which is planned to cover even more ground by 2010, cleaned up 90% of all trash, clamped down on factory and auto emissions, offered solar power rebates, and planted thousands of trees and cleared massive plots for green space. In ten years more, I guarantee this city will be an even more stunning place to visit with the smog cut into fractions, and fancy modern structures nestled next to a plethora of ancient monuments. Lot’s of excitement for the future of this city and country!

17.May.08

Took the Metro again this morning to Parliament which, once again, is up there as one of the most gorgeous government structures, towering above and abroad with gorgeous red stone. Directly across and through a tree-flanked park is the India Gate similar to the Arc de Triumph (only more red). Then we went to the national museum where we were ALMOST overcharged Rs 300 each for being tourists, but then we showed our year out-dated student ID’s and got in for Rs 1. (Saved Rs 598, or $15, see parents it was worth paying the tuition). We took no pictures in the museum, but it was quite unforgettable, though sometimes poorly maintained with many ancient relics open for people to freely touch them (which Indians, and children, LOVE to do). It spanned the whole history of India with paintings, brass, stone, & wood carvings, clothing, coinage, etc.

Afterwards we struck a deal with a Rickshaw driver to drive us to many more monuments for a decent cost and we let him take us to a couple shops where they pay him to bring us, so we don’t have to! Everybody wins, and we only have to suffer 10 minutes of them trying to push massively overpriced souvenirs on us, though it is always worth it, and something we do in almost every city. He took us first to Humayud’s tomb, just some dead Mughal Muslim emperor, who needed to build a massive, priceless structure for his dead, bloated, rotting corpse.

After that we took a long ride to the Baha’i Temple, a faith that really has no ties to other religions and preaches one god, unity, science, tolerance, and peace for mankind. More importantly however, they got some sweet style in their temples!!! There was a long wait to enter the temple as many people wished to see the innards of this white lotus monolith on a hill. Absolute silence was required, and we were pretty sure it was the first time in MONTHS that we had almost complete quiet to hear a pin drop. Indians being silent? I thought some might have an aneurysm trying to accomplish such a feat (then again who am I to say this, I can barely shut up when I am asleep, and even then sometimes…). After some very peaceful moments in the stunning innards of the temple, where light played splendidly off white marble, and natural cool-air vents from below made the whole chamber an oasis in the heat, we exited back into the hot Delhi sun and after a quick conversion attempt (no thank you religion!!!) we hopped into our waiting rickshaw.

We were dropped off at a park which housed more Mausoleums, lakes, fountains, and many Upper-Middle class Indians jogging and walking their dogs (a rare sight, as pet dogs are a rarity; what a backwards culture, right?!). Our favorite to see were the women in their gorgeous, colorful Saree’s wearing tennis shoes and listening to an iPod (should have gotten a picture). Afterwards we stopped by Subway of all places to put some western food in our upset stomachs. Instead of pork and beef, they only had lamb, which was delicious on our Spicy Italian sandwiches. Oh man, did that feel good going down as we enjoyed the food in the comfort of our room.

18.May.08

We did the final thing one must do in Delhi, visit Qutb Minar, the first mark of Mughali Muslim influence. To mark the victory over India, the Mughal emperor built a MASSIVE pillar and a gorgeous mosque out of scraps of Jain and Hindu temples which his army ripped apart. The deep carvings in Islamic were beautiful in the red stone and white marble. If the pillar had some white smoke billowing out of it, it would not seem out of place, however even for a “smokestack,” it was stunning!

The complex was rather large and we wandered around amidst the many other Indian visitors (who, once again, payed a fraction less for entrance). At some point we noticed a man trying to take a picture in our direction, so to be polite we moved out of his way, however, this seemed to strangely disappoint him. Then again Jessica noticed this man taking a picture in her direction when we were apart, and she did the same as before, again to the disappointment of this man. Soon enough we realized he was trying to take sneaky pictures of Jessica. For maybe ten minutes we wandered around trying to avoid this creepy guy, and anytime he brought up his camera Jess turned her back and I glared at him. You’d think he’d get a clue, but finally he simply came up to us and asked for a picture, which maybe we would have said yes if he’d not been so creepy about the whole thing. We refused, which only made him work harder to get a picture, weaving in and out of the crowds, and sneaking from behind monuments when we weren’t paying attention, until I got some pictures of him trying to take pictures of us (there is one on the Flickr page, he’s holding a camera down the aisle of pillars in a yellow shirt). Here’s a picture of the gorgeous white girl I’m sure he wish he could have taken…

Anyway we left the monument, stopped by two shops for 10 minutes to slice the cost of our long taxi trip in half, and strapped on our bags to make our way to the train station for a 20 hour overnight ride to Jaisalmer. The train ride was comfortable and we met a really nice Australian girl, Michelle, traveling alone who we chatted a bunch with. We slept well in our upgraded Air-con, blanket provided, curtained sleeper bunks (it was worth the extra cost for such a long trip (and by extra costs I mean $50 for both of us instead of the usual $15 or so we would pay for dirty, fan cooled, crowded bunks)!

His moustache will BLOW YOUR MIND!!! May 15, 2008

09.May.08

We headed to the Sikh Golden Temple today which was extraordinary. Both of us had to cover our heads in Sikh fashion and take off shoes before entering the massive marble complex with floating golden island. A quick religion lesson: The Sikhs are a small minority in India, but the majority in Punjab. They are historically persecuted for having really open-minded and tolerant ideology, much like the Jews. When you see an indian man wearing a turban (often vivid, and colorful), he is most likely Sikh (or just fashionable), many are able to come to the West and live because Sikh’s have a lot of wealth as they are terrific in business and are known to help out other Sikh’s. Sikh’s carry a small ceremonial dagger at all times, which is traditionally used to protect the weak from tyranny, though it is supposed to be a weapon of peace keeping and not simply violence. They worship a very holy book and the original is kept here at the holiest Golden Temple. Okay, if you want to know more, look Sikhism up on Wikipedia. So the whole temple complex is gorgeous white marble and bronze coated in real gold and prayer is spoken through a speaker in the form of music and song from 4am to 10pm every day all day. The music is gorgeous and the whole place, though filled with people walking around the complex or bathing in the holy waters, is very peaceful. The main central golden temple is covered entirely in gold, over 100kg’s in total (200+ lbs). Inside is three floors of people relaxing and reading from small versions of the holy book, or watching and praying as the men chant and play music. Inside no pictures are allowed so we cannot show the fine detail in gem and gold work unfortunatly, but we got great shots from the top of the temple. It truly is a magnificent structure. They also give really tasty free food to all visitors in the form of a sweet mush made of wheat, nuts, and raisens; there is also cold purified water being given at all corners of the temple. If we were not staying with a Couchsurfing host, we could also stay in the dormitories for nearly free (50 rupee donation expected). Supposedly the rooms are nice, though a friend of ours did get bed bug bites during her stay. Gotta love the generous Sikhs though!!!

After the golden temple we had a tasty Thali with one unbelieveable curry that was cashews, raisens, paneer, and some delicious sweet yet savory yellow sauce. We took a shared jeep to Wagha the border of Pakistan and India where we witnessed probably the funniest thing we have seen on this whole trip; the closing of the India/Pakistan border. It was like a massive party. Along the road before the border people were selling popcorn, drinks, food, souvenirs, etc. We approached the border and were ushered to special tourist seats (close up to the action). The whole scene was nuts! Hundreds and hundreds of Indians gathered and were all in terrificaly bright colors dancing and singing to blasting bollywood music. The indian border guards were in absolutely fantastic uniforms and some had hysterical moustaches (just see the pictures). The Pakistani side was quite sad. The men and women were sitting on complete opposite sides (though India is pretty similar too, and women did have a seperate section though they were not forced to sit there) and the men were all wearing plain white and none were as pumped up as on the India side. The Pakistani guards look rather awesome in all black and red, but also eerily like members of the SS or Imperial Stormtrooper captains (same thing right?). The whole ceremony lasted two hours and involved grosely overexagerated marching and stomping by the guards who at times seemed like peacocks showing off to other alpha males. The crowd went nuts with “Hindustan Zindabar!” over and over again (long live India), and likewise on the Pakistani side, who eventually got (more conservatively) fired up. The guards took down the flags on both sides, and dramatically shut the gates with well-timed coreography. The whole scenario was AWESOME. It is certainly not meant to be taken too seriously, as the guards themselves play into the silliness of it, though it is meant as symbolism of the heated fued between the two countries, though expressed in a light and fun way.

After the terrific border closing we returned to Amritsar and after crappy pizza dinner, went once again the the Golden Temple to await the ceremony of putting the book to sleep. At 4am every day the book is awaken, wrapped in a rich purple cloth with gold, placed in a shrine and carried by a group of chanting men from a large white temple to the Golden Temple, where it sits all day until the same ceremony is done in reverse at 10pm. It was a fun ceremony complete with horns, drums, and cool chanting. Everyone was really excited to see this book carried all of 300 or so feet to it’s resting place at night. We took a rickshaw afterwards to the train station where we got picked up by our host. We hung out with him and his family for awhile, drank more whiskey, and slept.

10.May.08

Today we left the house for only about 20 minutes to get groceries to cook dinner. Otherwise we spent the whole day hanging around the house doing laundry and relaxing. We made our best attempt to cook mexican for the family. The Pico de Gallo turned out really well, and the Quesodillas I always make were great, aside from the mediocre processed cheese (all we could find at the market). The family loved everything however and all was well! We had a great night of chatting, eating, drinking, and slept well.

11.May.08

Woke up super early today to catch our train to Haridwar. Spent hours on the train until the afternoon when we arrived, hopped on a bus and then rickshaw to Rishikesh. At first sight Rishikesh was quite dissapointing. The city is at the begining of the holiest river in India, the Ganga (remember Varanasi?), but it is very brown and ugly when we expected it to be much prettier. Later we found out is usually is prettier, but in the dry season it gets too much sediment and not enough fresh water from the mountains. The city seems kind of bleh, but it is unusually quiet and quite clean for an Indian city. Most people come here seeking “spiritual enlightenment” from the many ashrams, yogis, and brahmans that fill the city offering yoga, meditation, palmisty, reiki and other spiritual bullshit. I say bullshit because Jess and I don’t care for anything past maybe some nice yoga or a massage, and even at first glance one can’t help notice the plethora of “enlightened” westerners with their long dreads, spirit beads, and cheesy “Ohm” clothing (damn dirty Hippies!) Our hostel room is in a great spot overlooking the Ganga, very reasonably priced, imaculately clean, though also above a taxi stand which generates a fair bit of noise. The hostel offers italian food which sounded (and tasted) great to our stomachs which are needing a bit variety from Indian food. The pizza isn’t just good for India standards, but Italian standards! After some wandering and internet we went to bed.

12.May.08

We woke up very early and went on a much longer than expected hike today. It is generally a pilgrim path for Hindu’s who hike to some monasteries in the hills. People were very surprised to see us honkeys on the trail as well. The hike got better and better as we ascended as light rain trickled and lightning and thunder boomed overhead. Along the way were many spots of tasty cold spring water to quench the heat and thirst and we saw great views of Rishikesh below. After around 10km or so of many many monkeys, birds, and all around scenic nature we reached our destination of a large Shiva shrine where many worshipers were…well worshiping. Tons of incense, fire, and water as usual, and some really neat statues. Being worn out from the hike we took the lazy way down in a jeep, which in typical Indian fashion they well over packed. Anytime Jess and I think, “no, there is no way more people could fit in,” they always manage to, even if they hang off the back and simply hold on tight (mind you this was a policeman performing this feat). We spent the rest of the day doing nothing special, just hanging out and eating more western food which feels great on the intestines for a change.

13.May.08

We made a trip upriver to a nice private spot along the Ganga to swim for a bit. They boldly stated “no bikinis” aloud on the beaches, but we argued that if men could wear gross speedo’s in the river, and women can bath in Sarees with their guts flabbing out, it’s simply prude if they forbid bikinis because they show too much SHOULDER!!! Sometimes the hypocrisy in this country is overwhelming. After some nice relaxed bathing, drip castle making, and monkey viewing, more westerners had our same idea and found our secret spot, showing off their bikinis too (I guess we aren’t the only one’s who think the weird Indian double standard and sexist rules are ridiculous). Once we started to crisp from the sun we headed back home, hung out with a cow along the way, and spent the rest of the day wandering around and hanging out.

14.May.08

We discovered (MUCH too late) and awesome restaurant down the street which serves AVOCADO!!! A delicacy we haven’t seen for months and have been craving like crazy. Our worries of it being old with that fermented taste were instantly dispelled upon first succulent bite of the Avocado sandwich!!! SWEET DECADENCE!!! Enjoy avocado back home people, you’d miss it while abroad, AND good Mexican food! After that we spent some time bartering with a tough business lady over some terrific souvenirs/gifts for friends & family. We both got a good deal methinks, though everything in this country is a good deal (unless it ends up being fake and falling apart; hasn’t happened yet as we always thoroughly inspect).

After all that we packed up and took Taxi and bus to Haridwar again, this time spending the night there for the early train in the morning. It was obnoxious finding a good/cheap place in Haridwar, which were so readily available in Rishikesh so we wandered for awhile before settling on a nice room up 4 floors in a hostel tucked away in an alley. We then roamed the city and were pleasantly surprised to find some amazing stuff in Haridwar! The Ganga runs here too, and people here are even more excited about it. Not just bathing in it, but allowing the super swift current to tear them downstream to a series of chains which catch you to prevent drowning. It was like a massive water park, inner tubes and all. Nearby was a HUGE bronze statue of Shiva which I got some great shots of, and at dusk thousands of people gathered for a Pooja involving lots of fire and music. It was an awesome time had by all, and very pretty to watch all the floating leaves filled with flowers and flame flow down the river! We roamed through the streets after getting only mildly accosted by beggars and lazy Swamis (Hindu priests) wanting free handouts (we just tell them to get a real job; that usually stops them following us around if they speak English, otherwise “Bhaago!” works well too). Then sleepy time, having to wake up SUPER early for tomorrow’s train to Delhi!

PEN, CHOCOLATE, MONEY, MISTER, MADAME? May 10, 2008

04.May.08

Finally got to hotel Tourist Rest House after a night of vomiting and diareah on the train; grabbed some cold drinks, took a long shower, and attempted not to move for the entire day (except the intermittent trips to the toilet. We booked an A/C room with a TV so I could zone out and recouperate all day (still only like $14 a night). I slept, watched TV, slept more, Jess got bored, but understood my pain, as she always does. We did a small walk which was difficult, but the city is much calmer than a typical Indian city, already we knew we’d like it. That was it for today, just getting healthy again!

05.May.08

Sure enough, I got healthy again! Just a 24 hour thing thankfully, so we headed out early to check out the grand Taj Mahal! The foreign charge is RS 750 while Indians pay RS 20…seems a bit of a discrepancy, but what can one do? So we fork up the some $30 to enter the most gorgeous structure we have ever seen. As always I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, but no picture can really capture it’s splendour! All the stuff that looks like colorful paint all along the edges is actually ALL semi-precious stones. It is entirely made of marble and flawless in design.

We wandered for hours and hung out in the garden, taking in all the beauty. We ate lunch at a trustworthy place in the nearby tourist sector. I say “trustworthy” because our guidebook tells of a scam where restaurants poisen your food, then as your puking a friendly rickshaw driver will rush you to a nearby clinic. After a quick diagnosis you are given medicine and your insurance company (or you) are charged LOTS of money. Turns out the medicine makes you sicker and the clinic keeps you there and charges you more and more until you are better!!! Yes, this scam actually happens, and no we are not stupid enough to fall for stuff like this as it is always in the back of the mind! Freaky to think what people will do for money. So we ate at a good place and went to the hostel to rest in the peak heat of the day.

In the evening we went to another trusted restaurant (from our trusty guidebook) which is said to (and has) a terrific view of the Taj in the background…too bad we can’t say the same for the food. As darkness fell so did a massive sandstorm that flew in swift and felt like the first sign of the apocalypse. Especially scary when the city power went out, though we got home safe via auto-rickshaw and slept like babes.

06.May.08

Went to the Red Fort which was the capitol of the Moghul empire. Built by Akbar and perfected with marble by Shah Jahan (also built the Taj Mahal) it is a massive fortress filled with concubines quarters, mosques, execution platforms, etc that took a few hours to explore. Really stunning architecture, and in relatively great condition. The red stone contrast with marble is gorgeous, though I’m sure it was more stunning when the waterfalls used to run, pools filled with rosewater, and gardens filled all the grounds.

After the Red Fort we took a long tour of the city via a nice old man pulling us along on a bike rickshaw. It was slow going, but gave a great feel of the city. We stopped by a mosque with a bunch of insane muslim kids wanting us to give them pens (tourists bring pens to give, it’s really stupid), and telling us not to give money to the muslim fanatic who showed us around (his fanaticism is apparent in the crater on his forehead that he has cracked from banging his head on marble in prayer). We gave him RS 10 when he asked for RS 500, buy an RPG to attack the infidel with THAT Osama! (I’m just kidding around…besides he didn’t have a dialysis machine attached). We ate good lunch (weren’t poisened) and headed to some mausoleums and eventually the back side of the Taj Mahal for a different view (where more kids wanted more pens). One memorable moment was at a monument along the river where a bunch of kids hung out below by the water begging upwards at tourists who come to the balcony. They did the usual whiney sad/hungry face, which was, as usual, total bullshit, because we caught them earlier laughing and playing, and they were NOT starving. We laughed and told them to Bhaago (hindi for scram), but along came a huge group of even MORE obnoxious older German tourists who encouraged the kids by throwing down treats…AND PENS! AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH We yelled at them in German, but they just laughed and said that they are just silly kids, and they like the candy. Oh well, now we are even more sure why so many kids bug us so much, because all the other white people give them crap all day. Agra is especially horrific however because so many westerners come for the Taj.

As a favor we let the cycle rickshaw driver take us to “friends” stores where he get terrific comission just for bringing us, we don’t have to buy anything. The stores were palaces of high priced and high quality souvenirs. (Mom you would have bought half the store; beautiful stuff). We wandered for 10 minutes at each place, our driver and his cycle friend got paid (they had Jess and I ride seperate for double pay). We got home, used the internet a bunch, read, ate and slept.

07.May.08

We took a long bus to Fatehpur Sikri, another massive Red Fort where Akbar and court hung out to escape the business of Agra. It was even more stunning than the Agra fort, though getting to it from the bus station Jess and I went nuts at the TONS of kids wanting chocolate, pens, and money. Soon we reached the sanctuary of the fort where again we were way ovecharged, but had no choice, and were overall glad to spend the day at this stunning series of palaces.

Everything about the place was terrific and beautiful. It was a hot day, maybe 45 C (122 F), but we managed well and after hours of exploration we hopped on the bus again back home where we hung out, chatted with people, read, used internet, and slept.

08.May.08

We spent the whole day on the train 8am to 8pm from Agra to Amritsar. It was even more painless as we upgraded to A/C class, more expensive (total $25 for both), but well worth the comfort. 3 kids kept running around all day with the train as their personal jungle gym, but we befriended them (though couldn’t speak each other’s language) and they made the trip entertaining. We arrived and were picked up in a car by our Couchsurfing host Kanwaljeet, taken to his mansion (under massive renovation) with his family where we drank very good Indian whiskey for a change, made plans, chatted, and slept in a nice big comfy bed with a room all to ourselves.

Flaming corpses and pretty silk. May 10, 2008

29.April.05

Our last day in Darjeeling was spent tying up a few loose ends around town and just sort of hanging out waiting to head out. At 4pm we headed over to the shared taxi stand to get a shared jeep to New Jalpaiguri (NJP), which took half an hour or so and then slowly filling up the jeep as we headed down through the town honking and shouting out the window about the vacancies the whole time and squeezing in a few more people then one would think should fit…the long bumpy ride took about 3 hours or so and when we reached the city, the driver hailed a small auto rickshaw to take us to the train station, we were back in “real” India…noisy, smelly, polluted, crowded, colorful, and crazy….I mean this in the nicest way possible

We arrive at the train station with a few hours to spare, so we strip a couple layers of clothes off as the temperature has risen significantly and then get some dinner at the station and play the waiting game. Our train comes at 10:30pm and with only minor confusion find our beds and fall asleep soon after

30.April.2008

Wake up in the train to a total change in scenery, flat plains of wheat farms, small villages and people working in the fields, something out of a National Geographic, it is hard to believe that people still live so simply…amazing views. In the morning the temperature is fairly pleasant but as the day continues it begins to feel like a hot blow dryer in our faces when the train is moving.

At some point a very crazy (really, truly, insane) Indian man attaches himself to Dave and doesn’t stop bothering us till he gets off several hours later. He is outside the train and recognizes Dave from the night before and decides to jump in the train and come sit on our seats (on Dave’s feet) and talk to him while spitting cucumber which he is eating whole all over Dave and the seat….lovely. He can speak English but is mostly unintelligible. We do understand that he wants us to visit his home in 5 years and asks Dave to write the address. He has a small boom box from which he is blasting Hindi music and he gives us a broken watch, Hindu book (in Hindi), beads and eventually a stuffed animal dog (wedding present because we told him we are married, as you do in India) all forced gifts, we refused because he looked poor and we have no room in our already limited packs, but the more we refused the angrier he got. I tried to be forceful and say no, for him to leave us alone and this made things worse….but thankfully some other Indian passengers stepped aDraft Saved at 8:21:08 am.nd yelled at him and he quieted after that, but man that was hell! He really had a way of getting under our skin….annoying at the time but a great story and memory.

The train eventually rolled into Varanasi (Banaras) at 6:30 pm (two hours late) and we called our hotel, Vishnu Resthouse, one of the only hotels that doesn’t give money to touts, which makes it more difficult to find because other hotels will charge you more to pay the tout who “brought” you to their hotel (if the system doesn’t make sense to you, it’s because the system doesn’t make sense). We got an auto rickshaw but he didn’t take us all the way and lied about how close it is to walk the rest. We got out however which was a big mistake because though we tried to then argue to take us the whole way, two seconds after we got out the rickshaw was packed full with an Indian family…so we were screwed, very far from our hostel, and in a sketchy part of town, though at least at the river our hostel is situated on. We called our hostel, they said take a boat, so we did, first guy quoted RS 800 and we laughed and walked away because that is around $20 for a rather short boat distance, which would be an insane price. A nice Indian guy who is in the hospitality business saw us and knew we were in the wrong place at the wrong time (sun setting in bad part of town) he haggled a price for us and made sure we got to our hotel…very nice and smart guy…so happy he helped us. (The real cost of the boat ride was more like RS 150 or $3.50). The boat ride took about an hour (hand rowing) and it was a great introduction to the city, going by all the ghats and seeing the burning ghats at night specifically was amazing. It ended up being great because we could take pictures of the flaming bodies from the river at night when during the day it is forbidden.

28 hours later we made it to our destination and who do we run into for a second time? Laura and Dave, the dutch couple we had met on our way back from our trekk…total random chance….the hostel was great, very cheap price of RS 150 per night, clean, fan, bathroom, and overlooking the Ganga; boy were we happy to be home! Ate a small dinner and fell fast asleep.

01.May.08

Woke up around 5am to catch an early boat ride up the holy Ganga at sunset. The trip was terrific, complete with devout Hindus/Muslims bathing in the (filthy) waters, people beating clothes to wash them, Yogis and Brahmins wandering around, googly-eyed tourists, kids playing cricket, cows, goats, monkeys, dogs; an assortment of life and excitement along the river, and the bright orb rising in the vivid sky made the whole scene even more stunning. At some point some guy pulled up to our boat with a plate of flowers and a candle he lit for us even though we tried saying no. It made a pretty picture, but when he tried to WAY overcharge us we just laughed and gave him 10 rupees (We are getting very used to simply laughing when people tell us the “white” price for things; he wasn’t even a priest, just some fat dude with plates).

After the ride we wandered around. Attempted to enter some very holy Hindu temples, but people got annoyed because we are clearly NOT Hindu which is usually not a problem, but this is their holiest city. Oh well. We got a small tour to some lesser (but also gorgeous) temples from a “friend” pretending very hard not to be a tout, saying he didn’t want any money. What’s the catch? He took us to the silk shop where he “worked” where we were sat down in a nice A/C and cushioned room, offered drinks and were shown a plethora of silk, pashmina, and other wares; some nice scarves we actually did fall in love with, which we bought (after MUCH heavy bargaining), and I’m sure our “friend” got good commission.

We then took a break in the peak heat of the day and relaxed at the hostel. Later in the afternoon we headed to the burning Ghats to watch corpses aflame. We met another “friend” who took us there, chatted with us, and gave history & tradition of the cremations. This “friend” was even more convincing because he couldn’t be older than 16 and was just playing cricket when he started hanging out with us. We climbed a tower where guests go (only the families, men, of the deceased can be near the fires) and we had an attendant explain more of the cremation ceremony. A very old woman came by asking for donations. We gave a whopping sum of RS 200 ($5) which according to her arm flailing and wide eyes was far too little as the money goes to poor families who can’t afford the MAD expensive wood and, as translated, she asked we pay for at least 1 piece of wood which is like RS 5,000. A. the fact that we don’t really care if someone’s body is able to burn on a pile of $1,000 worth of wood when electric crematoriums do the same for a fraction of the price, and B. the old lady deeply offended us with her old, wrinkly, pancake boob popping out as she flailed her arms…we figured RS 200 was enough for someone to buy a twig and maybe cremate a pet cockroach or something. Once we’d convinced her we weren’t paying more, we were able to serenly bask in the flames of the dead below. I won’t give too many details for the squeamish, but if you really can’t stomach talk of death, skip to the next paragraph. Suffice it to say that everything you’d imagine to see while a human body is being burned, we saw, though there was no smell as they perfumed the bodies and threw spices in the flames. Quite out of the ordinary were the men patrolling with thick bamboo sticks to help beat the corpses so they break apart and burn more efficiently; the skull cracking was especially unique, and the constant popping sounds were mildly unnerving. Neither of us had problem viewing the death below, it seemed completely natural, and quite beautiful, it really was just another part of life, except…well, the opposite.

Afterwards our “friend”/guide Aniska showed us a delicious place to eat (which it also mentioned in our guide book). We ate a quick, yet succulent meal and made it to the evening Puja (prayer ceremony) at the main Ghat along the river. There was a lot of fire, smoke, chanting, loud music, lights, people trying to sell us things, and trying to charge us for sitting in seats that were free (it’s our fault for being too white like all the other gullible tourists). For being the main Puja, in the holiest city, along the holiest river in all the Hindu faith, it was rather boring. We wandered back, hung out with our dutch friends, ate, then I helped the hotel owners fix their computer, and slept.

02.May.08

We met with Aniska again, our “friend,” who took us, and our dutch friends, a few kilometers out of the city to some other temples that were pretty neat. Conveniently on the way back was a silk shop and loom he knew of. He showed us into the factory where they hand-make silk on old machinery which was really cool. Then we were brought to a A/C room with cushioned floors, and were offered drinks…we know where this was going, and before we knew it were ASSAULTED by silks and pashmina’s of all colors and types. It was all just too gorgeous to see and feel, and after some tough bargaining we bought some MORE terrific gifts for friends and family. I’m sure our new “friend” Aniska was stoked about the commision too. We all hung out afterwards and had them bring us sodas and beer; we chatted and had a good time surrounded by silk wares while the scorching heat of the day flew past while we remained cool. We wandered back through the twisting alleys of Varanasi, surrounded by goats, cows, cats, monkeys, dogs, and people shouting “hello, hello” to the crazy white people, a typical journey.

At nightfall Aniska took us to another place where Jessica got a new set of cute clothes (he urged us not to mention he brought us to the silk place earlier in the day, for he didn’t want his “friends” at this shop to get jealous; oh the games they play, but Aniska is quite a good tout and takes us to very quality places; we are quite fond of him by now). The five of us wandered through a very hectic part of the city, ate terrific chicken wraps, then headed back home, said bye to Aniska, and the four of us chatted late by candlelight (as the power is out a good majority of the day here).

03.May.08

We spent the day just hanging out waiting for our train to Agra later in the day. Said goodbye to David and Laura and talked, read a lot, and packed our bags. At the train station we waited more, booked tickets from Agra to Amritsar in 4 days and finally boarded our train. Dinner on the train set off a chain of events in my body that made it one of the worst nights of my life, intermittently springing from my cot to run through a tight hallway where dozens of people’s feet hanging over their cots brushed against me, to reach the door that opened to the railway tracks where my torso muscles spasmed & convulsed, wretching what at some point just became liquid and bile out of my extended throat. After a few hellish minutes of vomiting out into the fresh countryside was over I would rush to the squat toilet around the corner to allow exit from the other end. I popped pepto bismol like candy all night while drenched in sweat and sore all over. When the train would stop at a station I would rush out to buy more and more water bottles, eventually drinking probably 6-8 liters throughout the night. At 4am I was consoled by the fact it was almost over, I had suffered around 10 hours, but in 2 hours I would be safe in Agra at a nice hotel. 2 hours went by and the train didn’t arrive. Jessica cuddled me while I whimpered (mommy, daddy, chicken soup, cold 7-up, JACK) for an extra 3 1/2 hours (but by this point I wasn’t vomiting, just sore, and miserable) when the train finally arrived!!! We were safe in Agra, and alive to see the TAJ MAHAL!!